An exhibit opening Wednesday
at the Italian embassy in Paris is celebrating the 500th
anniversary of the arrival in France of Renaissance genius
Leonardo da Vinci.
The show - "Leonardo in France - The Master and his Pupils
500 years after crossing the Alps" - runs through November 20.
It gives an insight into Leonardo's journey and his last
years in Amboise, where Francis I, France's great Renaissance
king, had invited da Vinci, letting him use the stately home
Manoir du Cloux close to the king's Chteau d'Amboise, and where
the great genius died on May 2, 1519, at the age of 67.
Showcasing some of Leonardo's most interesting masterpieces,
including Head of a Woman (also known as La Scapigliata, from
the collection of Parma's National Gallery), the exhibit focuses
on his French period and vies to compare his work with that of
his closest pupils including Francesco Melzi, who travelled with
him to France.
Also on display are paintings by Gian Giacomo Caprotti,
known as Salai, who later joined Leonardo in Amboise.
Melzi's and Salai's artworks, lent by a number of leading
Italian museums including Florence's Uffizi, will be showcased
for the first time together.
Head of a Woman is an "extraordinary" and "little-known"
painting by the Renaissance master, Mario Scalini, the director
of the museums of the central Emilia Romagna museum, said
Tuesday, when Italian ambassador to France Giandomenico Magliano
gave a preview of the show.
Visitors will also be able to discover iconographic work
put together by a team of researchers from the Louvre Museum,
led by its president and director Jean-Luc Martinez, on the
masterpieces that Leonardo took with him to France - the Mona
Lisa, The Virgin and Child with St Anne and St John the Baptist.
Research on a fourth painting that was subsequently lost and
represented Leda will be included.
The exhibit was officially inaugurated Wednesday by Italian
Culture Minister Dario Franceschini and his French counterpart
Audrey Azoulay and takes place under the patronage of the
Italian and French presidents, Sergio Mattarella and Francois
Hollande.
Italian insurer Generali, defense group
Leonardo-Finmeccanica and fashion house Prada sponsored it.
The show is open every day for free (from 11 am until 5 pm)
at the Italian embassy in the Hotel de la
Rochefoucauld-Doudeauville, in Rue de Varenne, through November
20.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA